In the prior art, applicant is aware of an electrically driven produce labeller manufactured by Sinclair International of the United Kingdom. The device relies on bellows selectively positionable between retracted and extended position for applying self-adhesive labels to produce moving on a conveyor. The device suffers from mechanical complexity. The device does not allow for automated switching between multiple labellers. The device may not be adjusted to regulate the pressure with which a label is applied.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a produce labeller which does not rely on a bellows mechanism, but rather, relies on at least one cam surface in a non-rotating cam surface hub guiding spring-biased, piston-type label applicators in a radially spaced array on a rotating plate, actuation of the piston-type applicators between retracted and extended positions governed by at least one cam surface within the non-rotating cam surface hub, and wherein the spring biasing force may be adjusted to adjust the pressure applied to units of produce when labelling.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a transverse array of such produce labeller devices along a common drive shaft so as to rotate each plate housing the piston-type label applicators in the transverse array.
The device according to the objects of the present invention accomplish a reduction in mechanical complexity and, in particular, remove the complexity associated with pneumatically sealing a pneumatically assisted device by means of a seal provided between a rotating plate and a non-rotating hub. This is accomplished, in particular, by the me of Delrin (TM) material on the beating surfaces between the plate and hub.